Cat Stevens - Moonshadow

What this video is

Released in 1972 at the height of Cat Stevens' commercial peak — Teaser and the Firecat (1971) had been certified triple platinum in the US — the Moonshadow animated film occupies a unique position in early music video history as a commissioned animated short rather than a performance clip. It directly precedes the music video era proper, functioning instead as a theatrical promotional film shown in cinemas before…

Why it matters

A foundational artefact in the genealogy of the animated music promotional film, bridging the theatrical animated short tradition of the late 1960s (Yellow Submarine) and the music video form that would crystallise in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Represents one of the earliest examples of an…

The director

British animator and director Charles Jenkins was a veteran of TVC London's animation studios, where he contributed rotoscopic and cel animation work on major productions. He is credited as a key creative figure in post-Yellow Submarine British animation,…